Just Friends
by OohNaNa
Summary: Bella and Edward have been best friends their whole lives. But when two of their close friends get together, does it change the way they look at their relationship? Canon pairings, rated M just in case of future lemons.
1. Bella's Back!

_BPOV_

"_Bella baby!" He grinned as he gripped me in a bear hug and spun me round in the his strong arms. I nearly swooned from the __familiar smell of him. _

"_Hey Eddie, pleased to see me?"_

"_Like you wouldn't believe. It's so boring round here with you!"_

_I laughed and tried to hide my blush. _

_Edward and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember. He was in every family photo we had scattered around the house, and the stories my mom told from my childhood rarely didn't include him. We grew up together, staying round each others house's every weekend and treating each other's parents as if they were our own. When my parents divorced and my mom moved away, he was the one that got me through. Even if I did miss him like crazy when I had to go visit her in New York, his reactions when I came back made it almost worth it._

"_So, what you been up to for the past two weeks? Anything interesting I should know?" I asked as he loaded my bags into his car._

_He laughed before answering. "Bella we spoke on the phone every day. You haven't missed a thing."_

_I joined in his laughter and gave him another big hug._

"_Sure is good to be back."_

_Edward dropped me off at Charlie's and lugged my bags into the house. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and told me he'd ring me later, then left. _

_Charlie was still at work so I got cooking his dinner while I waited for him to return. _

_He got in just as I was taking chicken out the oven._

"_Something smells good, my Bella must be back!"_

"_Hi Dad." I hugged him tightly._

"_How ya been Bells?" _

"_Not bad. It was good to see mom, but man am I glad to be back."_

_He laughed and ruffled my hair._

"_That's my girl."_

_After dinner I was busy unpacking in my room when something tapped against my window. I hurried over and looked out. Edward was standing below my window grinning at me. I threw open my window and smirked __back at him._

"_Thought you grew out of this when we were 12? I don't think Charlie would be too happy if he had to shell out for ANOTHER new window."_

_He laughed. "I didn't realise how big the stone was that time okay?"_

"_Stone? More like rock!"_

"_Want to come out with me?"_

"_That depends where we're going."_

"_My house… to start with."_

"_Oooh very intriguing. I'll be out in a minute."_

_I ran to the bathroom and brushed my teeth quickly, dragging a brush through my hair as I scrubbed. I checked how I looked in the mirror. I was still wearing a blue tank top and tiny white shorts, dressed for the hot summer weather in New York, not exactly appropriate for wet Fork__s, but too late to change now. I shoved a hoodie on quickly and called out to Charlie. "Just off to Edward's, Dad!"_

_He chuckled. "I wondered how soon you'd be over there. You kids have fun. Say hi to everyone for me."_

"'_Kay!"_

_Edward leaned against his car waiting for me, grinning and looking at his watch. _

"_Just over five minutes, not one of your personal best Miss Swan." He teased as he held the passenger door open for me._

_I stuck my tongue out at him and laughed._

"_Remember when I was out in ten seconds flat?"_

"_Vividly. You were still in your pajamas."_

"_Oh god, the 'My Little Pony' ones!"_

_He got in beside me and started to drive, sniggering at the memory. _

"_Shut up Edward, they were hot."_

_He looked at me in shock for a second before bursting out laughing fully, and he didn't stop for the whole journey._

_They were loud squeals of delight as I walked through Edward's front door, and I was jumped on first by Alice, then Rosalie, then Emmett. _

"_Bella's back Bella's back" Alice sang as she danced around the room. _

_Rosalie joined in and began twirling Alice around._

_Emmett put his arm around me and led me to the couch._

"_Sure you can make it Bells? I've not forgotten how clumsy you are." I thumped him on the arm gently, trying not to laugh as he led me over like an invalid, guiding me slowly over the rug._

"_Emmett I am perfectly capably of walking!"_

_He looked at me very seriously._

"_Are you though Bella? Are you REALLY?"_

"_Emmett stop tormenting the poor girl." Rosalie clipped him round the head and kissed me on the cheek._

"_Missed you honey."_

_I looked round at my__ best friends and beamed. "I missed you too, all of you! Wait, where's Jasper?"_

_E__dward, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper had moved in together a month ago when Edward's parents took off on a round the world trip, leaving their huge house free. They'd begged me to move in with them too but I really couldn't bring myself to leave Charlie just yet. I at least needed to teach him how to cook for himself first._

"_Jasper's having dinner with his parents, he'll be round later to see you don't worry." Alice smiled._

"_Oh good__. So, how's living together going?"_

_They __all exchanged looks._

"_It's been…interesting." Edward grinned._

"_Uh oh. What's happened?"_

_Alice chirped up, "Boys are PIGS, that's what's happened!"_

_Rosalie nodded in agreement, turning to me, horrified. "Bella you should see the bathroom they share. It's…it's…you have to see it to even believe it."_

"_Oh boys you disappoint me." I laughed as Edward and Emmett glared at the girls and grumbled to each other under their breath. Then Edward met my glance and smiled. _

"_We can cook though! We've prepared a feast in your honour Bella, to celebrate you coming home."_

_I smirked to hide how touched I really was._

"_You'd think I'd been away a year, not two weeks!"_

_After our huge dinner we all collapsed in the lounge, rubbing our stomachs and moaning. _

"_I'll never eat again." Rosalie declared dramatically._

"_Want to watch a movie?" Emmett suggested innocently._

_Rosalie and Alice groaned loudly. "AGAIN, Emmett? You want to watch Die Hard AGAIN?"_

_Emmett looked at them in outrage. "I most certainly do not. This is Bella's night, she won't want to watch Die Hard!"_

_The girls sighed in relief._

"_I did buy Die Hard Two today though…"_

_I grabbed a cushion and threw it at Emmett's head. Alice growled and Rosalie jumped on Emmett, pummelling him with her little fists._

"_Rosalie..ouch! Where'd you learn to hit like that? I was only..OUCH! JOKING!"_

_We all watched and laughed at the huge Emmett being beaten to a pulp by Rosalie. _

"_Little... OWW! __DESIST, DEVIL WOMAN! HELP ME EDWARD!"_

_Edward stood up to defend his friend, but I grabbed his round the waist from behind and pulled him back down quickly. _

"_Oh no you don't__."_

_Edward looked at me in amusement._

"_You really think you could stop me Bells? I'm twice the size of you."_

"_Oh is that a challenge?" I raised my eyebrows._

_He rolled his eyes dismissively__ and got up to defend Emmett again. I stood on the couch and launched myself at him, landing on his back, catching him by surprise and knocking him to the floor, where I promptly sat on him._

_Ha._

_Alice giggled at all the fighting from the sofa, enjoying seeing the girls winning for a change. As I looked at her I saw her eyes __change to confusion as she watched Rosalie and Emmett. I turned to look._

_Rosalie was straddling Emmett, pinning his hand__s up above his head. His hands were on her hips, but instead of pushing her off him, they looked like they were holding her down. Both were panting heavily, their faces extremely close. _

_Was something going on between Rosalie and Emmett?_

_I looked at Edward, who's confused face mirrored mine._

_Alice cleared her throat loudly and Rosalie and Emmett leapt apart looking sheepish. I stood up to free Edward and we were all silent for a second, everyone trying to think of something to say. _

_Luckily Jasper strolled through the door then, immediately diffusing the awkwardness with his big smile and strangely calming presence. _

"_Bella!"_

_He came and hugged me tightly._

"_Hey Jasper!" I grinned. Now all my favourite people were here. "Thank God you came when you did, the weirdest thing just happened." I whispered in his ear._

_He look at me curiously. "Tell me later?"_

_I nodded._

"_Does anyone want to play a game?" Alice said suddenly._


	2. Emmett's Fear

_**EPOV**_

_Alice __quickly explained the rules as she set out six shot glasses and a huge bottle of vodka._

"_Okay, so basically, there's two teams. We make up questions about each other to test how well each team knows the other team. Anyone who gets a question wrong takes a shot. Girls against boys?"_

_Emmett, Jasper and I looked at each other and smirked._

"_You know it."_

_Alice clapped her hands in delight while __Rosalie raised her eyebrows at us, a look of menace in her eyes._

"_You seriously think you're going to win this one guys? We know you three like the back of our hands."_

"_Yeah I know the back of your hands pretty well too, since you just viciously attacked me with them Rose." Emmett __said, his voice just a little too flirty. I half expected her to fly at him and start beating him up again, but she just giggled and Jasper turned to look at me in amazement. I shrugged, just as stumped as he was, and his eyebrows raised slightly as he watched them both._

_Alice cleared her throat loudly and got everyone's attention again._

"_Everyone in?"_

_We all __ nodded, and Bella caught my eye. I knew she was thinking it would be tough for us to get a question wrong about each other, and neither of us wanted to crack first. I grinned and winked, and she grinned back, mouthing "We'll see."_

_Game on._

_Ten minutes later and each team had a pile of question__s to answer._

_It was Bella's turn first, as she was the guest of honour tonight. Emmett handed her the first question and she read it out loud to the group._

"_How big is Edward's...EMMETT!"_

_He looked a__round innocently._

"_How big is Edward's what Bella?"_

_Everyone __collapsed into laughter around us as I glared at Emmett and punched him in the arm. Bella and I were always getting stick from the rest of them for how close we were. I just had to hug her (which granted, I do often, but she IS adorable!) and they would all break out in hooting._

_Bella __smiled a tiny smile and shook her head. "I refuse to answer that. Next question."_

"_Wait!" gasped Rosalie, tears running down her face she was laughing so much. "You __actually KNOW?"_

_Bella__'s smile grew into a grin and glanced at me. I looked at back in alarm, begging her silently not to tell them about the time I measured my…manhood… with a ruler when we were fifteen, and rushed to her house for some insane reason shortly after, desperate to let her know I was 'waaay above average'._

_And I've grown since then, if you know what I mean._

_I dragged myself back to the present to see __Bella tap her nose knowingly at Rosalie. "Next question."_

"_Oh no Bella, if you refuse to answer that, you definitely have to take a shot." Alice laughed, glancing at me curiously. I would definitely be getting a grilling later._

"_God damn you __for that question Emmett!! You're just trying to get me drunk." Bella growled at him, grabbed a shot glass full to the brim of vodka, and knocked it back in one impressive gulp._

_I__ let out a low whistle. "That's going to be one hell of a headache in the morning babe." I held her gaze, looking into her big chocolate eyes as I smiled at her gratefully, silently thanking her for keeping my secret. She winked back at me and laughed. "Rose's turn!"_

_Rosalie__ grabbed her paper confidently._

"_Wh__at is Emmett's greatest fear? Well this is easy. You could've at least tried to make it hard for me boys." _

_Beside me, __Emmett buried his head in his hands, muttering softly to himself, "Never get hammered alone with Rose again Emmett. Never!"_

_Rose__ grinned wickedly, waiting for complete silence from the room. "Impotence." She announced proudly._

_Bella and Alice hooted with laughter, clutching at each other to keep from falling over._

_Emmett blushed and looked at us men._

_Jasper slapped him on the back._

"_Happens to all of us mate. Well actually it's never happened to me…but better luck next time."_

"_I AM NOT IMPOTENT!"_

_I piped up, "Emmett, come on. We can get you some pills man. Let us help you."_

_Bella and Alice screeched again, holding their stomachs in pain they were laughing so hard._

"_I AM FULLY ABLE TO GET IT UP!!" He roared storming out after glaring at Rose, who was standing at the table trying to look innocent but barely keeping the smug smile off her face. _

"_That'll teach him to make me watch Die Hard five times in a row!"_

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_**BPOV**_

_I collapsed on the sofa and sighed happily. My first night back couldn't have been much better. I already felt like I'd never been away. After Emmett had been coaxed out of his room by us all kneeling in the hall begging for forgiveness, (even Rosalie!) we'd carried on playing drinking games all night. First to collapse was Alice, whom Jasper carried upstairs to her room, only to be found snoring next to her ten minutes later, fully dressed and very reluctant to wake up._

_Emmett left next, stumbling up the stairs like an elephant and cursing all the way, making us all chuckle again._

_And now it was just me Rose and Edward, sitting in the lounge with a wine bottle and watching the sun come up through the window. All was quiet as Edward silently tried to make me question Rose about Emmett, wiggling his eyebrows at me and cocking his head in her direction. It amazes me how little we actually have to say to have a conversation, one look in his eyes is all I need to know exactly what he's thinking._

_I pursed my lips and shook my head, but then he turned his irresistible puppy dogs eyes on me, so I sighed and took a deep breath._

"_Rose?"_

_Silence._

"_Er…Rose??"_

_A little snore escaped Rosalie's lips and I chuckled quietly and got a blanket, careful not to wake her as I tucked it in around her. Edward watched me with a strange look on his face._

"_What?"_

_He took my hand and pulled me down on the couch next to him, wrapping his arm around me and smiling contentedly, enveloping me in his delicious Edward smell._

"_I just missed you, that's all."_

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_**Awwww. I love Edward!**_

_**I'm new to this, so review and tell me if it's any good.**_

_**Hope you like it :)**__** xxx**_


	3. Man Period

_**This one's dedicated to my reviewers (all three of them ;) ) for making me want to carry on. Thanks guys :D carry on telling me what you think!**_

_**Bit of drama in this chapter...hope you like it :) xxx**_

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_**EPOV**_

_Bella looked deep into my eyes as she wrapped her legs round my waist and kissed me softly, her hand slipping slowly, tantalizingly down my bare chest. My breathing got heavy as I fell backwards onto the couch, and my grip round her waist grew tighter, pulling her as close as possible._

_As her hand grew closer and closer to my belt buckle I kissed her harder, more passionately, trying to convey in the kiss just how much I wanted her. She responded by moaning softly and grinding her hips against me. I gasped with need and returned the pressure with the rapidly growing bulge in my jeans. She was pressed up so close to me that I could feel her everywhere, on all surfaces of my body. She was taking me over, filling my senses with her delicious scent and taste, the feel of her silky skin creating friction with mine. She became my whole world. A growl escaped me as her soft little hand started to creep slowly in underneath my belt, brushing against the sensitive skin under my navel and setting my nerve ends tingling. _

"_Edward." She murmured breathlessly against my lips._

_I looked at her and I couldn't answer. I was too lost in the eyes that conveyed everything words couldn't; love, lust, desire, trust…everything I felt for her at that moment was reflected right back at me in the chestnut depths. At that moment something clicked inside me. Bella and I were half beings, flawed and unfinished unless we were together. We fit like two pieces of a puzzle, made for each other since the beginning of time. It was the most clarity I'd ever felt, the most perfect moment of my life so far. _

"_Edward!" _

_She was starting to sound annoyed. I paused, confused. Was it not happening fast enough for her or something? The tone of voice definitely didn't match the expression in her eyes. My moment was destroyed, and doubt crept into my mind, as I tried to remember how we had even begun kissing in the first place. How had we come to be so closely intertwined and intimate? Everything was very vague. Surely it wasn't…_

"_For God's sake Edward!"_

_Damn, it had seemed so real that time._

_I opened my eyes with difficulty and found myself looking into the brown ones. The real ones this time, not the tricksy dream ones. The real ones were not impressed._

"_Morning." I croaked huskily, smiling weakly, trying to block out the light streaming in though the window._

"_Morning?! It's four in the afternoon! I've been home and back already! You said we'd hang out today, just us." She pouted, and my eyes were momentarily distracted by her mouth, clearing my mind completely of anything other than the pink lips, so soft and kissable. I had to shut my eyes quickly before I got carried away._

"_Edward! Are you even listening to me?"_

_Her voice was rather sexy when she was angry…I groaned and tried to block the thoughts out of my mind. It was just a dream! Admittedly the latest of many recently, but that didn't mean anything. Just a coincidence. Definitely. _

"_EDWARD!"_

_She yelled, really mad now, and slapped me softly round the face. Well, it seemed soft to me but it was probably meant to hurt._

_What the hell was wrong with me today? Bella often appeared in my dreams, but usually I was able to separate Dream Bella the sex vixen from Actual Bella the very platonic best friend. But now I suddenly felt incredibly awkward, especially when I looked down and realized Dream Bella was still having a very real effect on my anatomy._

_I flung my blanket over me quickly, hoping she was too annoyed to notice._

"_Ahh sorry. Guess I just had too much to drink. We still have time to hang out though, if you want."_

_My words came out stilted and moody, as if I didn't actually want to spend time with her today. The usual Edward reaction would be to fling myself on the floor, kneeling before her and begging her forgiveness dramatically, before jumping on her and tickling her into submission. Then I'd spend the day doing all her favorite things to get back in her good books. But I just felt too awkward to be normal, even without my little- or should I say 'waaay above average'- problem. The way her body had felt pressed up close to mine was still lingering in my thoughts, refusing to budge. I had felt so strongly for her in that dream! There was no way I could be around her today without the risk of doing something I would definitely regret._

_Bella noticed my sullen tone and flinched back slightly, her eyes narrowed._

"_Do YOU want to?"_

_She could tell I didn't. It's so annoying how well she knows me sometimes._

_I hedged. "What makes you say that?"_

"_Your attitude maybe?"_

_I looked down, afraid to look in those hypnotizing eyes of hers. "I'm just a little hung over okay? Jesus. You're always trying to control my life! Maybe I don't want to spend every single second of my life with you, ever think about that?"_

_The words came out like vomit. I couldn't stop them. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to take her in my arms and make the dream come true, but I had to fight it. This was BELLA. I had to get her away from me. _

_I made the mistake of looking up quickly, and I saw her face crumple in pain before she covered it up. I admired the steadiness of her voice when she finally spoke. Her voice practically dripped with sarcasm._

"_I didn't realize my company was so hideous to you. I mean, you've always covered it up so well. What with calling me constantly, begging me to come out with you instead of doing work or spending time with Charlie, and moaning at me when I stay with Renee for more than a week. And God forbid I make other friends! You're so full of bullshit Edward. I'm leaving now. Don't follow me, and don't bother calling until you're feeling less…hungover."_

_She turned round quickly without a word and I watched wordlessly as she strode over to the door, shutting it quietly behind her. I wished she'd slam it, but she always has known how to keep the moral high ground in an argument. Not that I've ever argued with her myself, just witnessed plenty of spats with the girls over the years. After arguments like that I'd always be there for Bella, holding her and stroking her back softly til she felt better. Who was she going to turn to for comfort this time?_

_I collapsed back onto the sofa and groaned loudly into my pillow. Well handled Edward. Really, well done._

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_**BPOV**_

_I accelerated out of the Cullen's drive too fast, speeding up the road too fast, only to pull over when the inevitable tears blurred up my vision. I thumped the steering wheel with my fist and then yelped as I accidently set the horn off and pain seared through my hand. I looked down at it in shock and suddenly started laughing, a tad hysterically. I hate fighting with Edward, we never fight. In fact, I think the only time we've gone more than a day without talking to each other was when he cut all of my favorite Pocahontas Barbie's hair off when we were five. God I loved that doll. _

_He'd been so sweet last night. We'd stayed up talking about anything and everything for ages, stopping only when Edward noticed how hard I was fighting to keep my eyes from closing. He insisted I take the sofa, curling up on the floor himself. Then when I woke up in the morning I felt almost maternal as I woke him up, still half asleep, and moved him onto the couch so he'd be comfortable before I left. _

_And now this morning he'd said all that shit so angrily! This was so unlike Edward. I couldn't understand what I'd done wrong. I shook myself angrily. So what if he was being a jerk? Just because he seemed to be on his man period, I wasn't going to let that ruin my day. No doubt he'd be begging at my window later and everything would be back to normal. Probably. _


	4. Girly Shit

_**BPOV**_

_I got into the house to the sound of the phone ringing and instantly felt better. That would be Edward calling to apologise. I'd let him have it a bit, let him know his behaviour had hurt me, then I'd forgive and forget and we'd carry on with the rest of our summer. I smiled happily at the thought._

_I sprinted to the phone and grabbed it quickly, breathless._

"_Edward?"_

"_Um no, sorry Bella. Only me." Alice said quietly._

_My heart sank and I was alarmed to find my eyes filling up with tears for the second time that day. But I tried to keep my voice upbeat so I didn't hurt Alice's feelings._

"_Oh hey Alice, what's up?"_

"_You don't need to force that phoney cheeriness on me sweetie. What's happened with Edward? He's been moping all day."_

"_Really? What's he doing?"_

"_He's locked in his room and he won't let anyone in. He won't eat lunch, or talk to anyone, all he's said is he 'has stuff to figure out'. Is this anything to do with you?"_

_Alice sounded worried and upset, quite rightly. This was not normal Edward behaviour at all. He was always charming and talkative with everyone, he never sulked, and he really was the easiest person in the world to get along with. Hangover or not. Did I make him like this?_

"_I don't know. Maybe. We had a bit of a fight this morning."_

"_Really?! What about?"_

"_He said…he said he didn't want to spend as much time with me as usual. That I needed to get my own life." My voice embarrassed me by breaking twice in that sentence and I blinked my eyes furiously to stop them leaking._

"_Oh Bella. I'm sure he didn't mean that. He missed you so much while you were away! And you got on just as well as usual last night, if not even better. Unless something happened after the rest of us went to bed?"_

_There was an underlying question in Alice's voice I couldn't work out._

"_What do you mean, unless something happened? Like what?"_

"_Oh...nothing. Just a thought. Well give him a few days and he'll be round begging for forgiveness I'm sure. Maybe he's just stressed."_

_She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more that me._

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_**EPOV**_

_Four days later, the longest we've gone without contact since the day we met fifteen years ago, and I still couldn't close my eyes without seeing her, imagining her. I've always known she's beautiful, all through high school I'd get guys approaching me, asking me to put in a good word for them with her after making sure I wasn't after her myself._

_Of course she was wanted, with her big brown eyes that make her look so vulnerable and sweet, her perfect lips and soft, creamy skin. Her hair makes you want to touch it with just one look, it's so long and silky, falling in waves down her back to nearly her waist. And don't even get me started on her body right now._

_I never considered going after her myself if I'm honest. The thought was foreign to me. We went through kindergarten together, when all I believed was that Santa only comes when you're good and girls give you cooties. It was just about safe enough to be friends with Bella, she was different from the other girls, not so scary. You could actually talk to her. Once she ate a worm because I'd dared her to, I was so impressed I demanded she be my best friend on the spot. She thought about it hard for about half a second before shaking my hand in acceptance. From then on we'd sit on the climbing frame plotting how to steal cookies from the staff room without being caught, whispering and giggling in lessons until we got sent out to stand in the hall, never really bothering to make any other friends because each other was all we needed. _

_Once we'd grown up and got to high school we weren't in every single lesson together anymore, so making more friends was kind of inevitable. That's when Alice Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett came along, and from then on we've never looked back. None of us dated much, despite many offers, because we just didn't see the point of getting serious with anyone until we were older and out of school. All we wanted was to have fun, and that's what we had. That's the way we liked it, the way we still like it. Why are things changing now? Rose and Emmett can't even look at each other without sparks flying, and the thoughts I'm having about Bella are beyond inappropriate. Just thinking about her makes me ache inside. I miss her so much. Four days without speaking! What must she think of me?_

_I was brought out of my reverie suddenly by a loud knocking at the door. Someone tried to force it open but cursed loudly when they found it locked._

"_Edward, open this door. Now." Emmett growled._

"_Fuck off." I muttered. I didn't feel like talking, not to anyone. _

"_EDWARD!"_

"_NO!"_

"_FINE." There was a loud thump and muffled grumbling as he sat down heavily, back up against my door. "Just listen to me then. Do you have any idea how immature you're being?"_

_He heard my snort, even through the door._

"_I know, I know, I'm the least mature person ever, but even I wouldn't act like this. Talk to me man. Everyone's worried about you. You haven't told anyone what's going on, and Bella's been avoiding us all for days. We miss her, and you a bit I guess. Did you kiss her or something? Did she knock you back?" _

_I hissed. I didn't need any more incentive to think about kissing Bella, the crushing desire was there, killing me already._

"_Shut the hell up."_

_Emmett chuckled._

"_I see. So it is to do with Bella. I'm not gonna force you to tell me, but don't you think I could help? With my, er, Rose problems and all." _

_My curiousity made me speak._

"_What exactly is going on with you and Rose?"_

_Another heavy sigh._

"_I don't know man. I just…It's like….I think I love her."_

_I strode across the room, unlocked the door and flung it open immediately, causing Emmett to fall backwards into my room, smack his head on the floor and emit a range of expletives that would've made even Gordon Ramsay proud._

"_YOU LOVE HER?!" _

_Emmett fell silent and laid back on my floor, looking sheepish._

"_Well I don't know. But I do know I've never felt this was before. I've never spent this much time just talking to a girl. She fascinates me. We kissed for the first time the other night and it was just…wow. It's like, I've suddenly realised what my whole life's been about, you know? Everything makes sense now. With Rosalie is where I'm supposed to be."_

_I looked at my best friend, and suddenly felt proud. He'd grown up. Sure, it'd be weird seeing my two best friends get together, and it would be hell if they broke up, but with this kind of talk from Emmett, I doubted they would._

"_I'm happy for you mate."_

"_Thanks. Now I've told you, I just need to work out how to tell her."_

_We sat on my floor in silence for a while; each lost in our thoughts, until Emmett gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder and stood up._

"_That's enough of the girly shit. Whatever's going on with Bells, sort it out. You guys suck without each other."_

_I laughed. Emmett really has a way with words. _

"_I will."_

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_The next morning I got up, showered and made myself presentable. I wore my favourite jeans and a tight black t-shirt, both of which Bella picked out for me. The girl has taste. I made my way down to the kitchen and took a deep breath before entering. I hadn't been downstairs for five days._

_Everyone was there eating breakfast and they all fell silent as I walked in. I hid a smile as I noticed Rose and Emmett were holding hands under the table. _

"_Welcome back Edward Cullen." Alice broke the silence, smiling at me and giving me a big hug. Jasper slapped my back and handed me a plate of bacon. I was suddenly ravenous, having barely touched food during my hibernation. _

_We fell into our usual banter at breakfast, but there was definitely someone missing. When I finished my third helping of bacon I stood up and everyone fell silent again, looking at me expectantly._

"_Think I might just pop over to see-"_

"_Bella." They all chorused happily._

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**Just a bit of background for you there, I'll update soon. Next chapter's going to be fun to write.. :D review and let me know what you think! xx**


	5. Tiny Towel

**Next chapter already, I'm on a roll. Reviewers, this is for you :)**

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_**BPOV**_

_I got up on__ day five, fed up of moping and filled with a new flow of determination. Screw waiting for Edward to stop being such a pussy, I was going to go over there and give him the best day of his life, and make him remember how much he used to love spending time with me. I wanted my best friend back. All good in theory, but I didn't know exactly how I was going to achieve it. I hadn't got that far yet in my planning. All I knew was, I needed to look my best to give me the confidence to face him._

_I paused in front of my wardrobe at a complete loss. What do fun people wear? Do they have a certain look? I eventually decided to attempt to look __just plain hot, if that was even doable. I needed to make Edward proud to be seen with me. So I settled on a short ripped denim miniskirt and a cute little pink t-shirt that said "Bite Me" across the chest. **(sorry)**_

_Having laid the clothes out on my bed I got in the shower, shaving my legs perfectly smooth and washing my hair with my favourite strawberry shampoo that __I remembered Edward had once called "the true scent of heaven". I felt pathetic for trying so hard with someone that has known me forever and seen me at my roughest, but I was willing to try anything to get my Edward back. _

_I got out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel; typical that the only one left was __a hand towel, possibly the smallest one we have in the house. It barely covered my ass, even when I was standing upright. Served me right for being too self absorbed these last few days to do the laundry. I looked around for my moisturiser to help preserve my legs at their softest, but couldn't find it. I searched for a few minutes before remembering it was downstairs in the living room. Huffing, I pulled the towel around my body tighter and snuck out the bathroom, praying that Charlie had gone to work already._

_I was digging around behind the cushions on the sofa, knowing my moisturiser was there somewhere, when I heard a gasp behind me. A distinctly male gasp. Crap, my whole ass was on show to my father._

"_Sorry Dad, I thought you were at-"_

_I turned round__ to face him, blushing, and quickly turned about a thousand shades redder._

_I was dripping wet, my hair was plastered to the side of my face, I was bright red, I had no makeup on, and I was practically naked._

_And there standing in front of me was Edward Cullen._

_Not exactly the reunion I had imagined._

_He just stared at me, clearly horrified. Bless him. No one deserves t__o see this much of my pale lanky legs._

_We both stood there in shocked silence for a second, __too awkward for words, when the weirdest thing happened._

_His eyes took in my body, travelling from my eyes down to my hands __that were currently clutching at my chest to keep the towel from falling down, then slowly, slowly down my fully exposed thighs to my ankles. And as his eyes travelled the expression on his face slowly changed. Horror. Curiosity. Lust?!_

_His eyes __made their way up my body again and went to my face as he walked towards me slowly, never breaking eye contact. I just stared at him, trapped in his green gaze. His steady advance and the look of fierce longing on his face took the ability to speak or move away from me completely. I was frozen. He reached me and put his hand to my face, sweeping the damp hair away from my eyes and stroking my cheek tenderly. I was shocked to feel the way my body was reacting to his touch, breath quickening, heart pounding. As he leaned in closer I caught his smell, so fresh, manly and delicious. I nearly collapsed. My eyes darted to his lips. I'd never noticed before how pink and perfect they were, just begging to be…_

_I __honestly don't know who started the kissing. But I never wanted it to end. It started off soft and sweet, little tender kisses. Then I completely forgot that my brain was screaming at me to stop, that this was Edward, that this was wrong in so many ways. I forgot I was wearing only a towel and standing in broad daylight in my living room, and I reached up and hooked my arms around Edward's neck and pulled him to me. He moaned against my lips as I pressed my whole body hard against his, and he kissed me properly, slipping his tongue in to caress mine gently. He tasted sweet and clean, a taste impossible to get sick of. His hands ran tantalisingly up and down my back, setting my nerve endings tingling through the thin material of the towel. I wound my hands in his hair and pulled hard on it, bringing him even closer, and deepening the kiss. _

_We stood entwined like this for several minutes before breaking off for air. I sighed and heard him whisper my name as I dropped little kisses down his gorgeous cheekbones. He pulled me up off my feet easily so I was level with his height and could wrap my legs tightly round his waist. I was shocked and turned on even more when I felt his erection pushing against me, and my lips quickly found his again. _

_He took a few steps towards the couch and carefully started to lower me down, kissing me softly all the time, but on the way he suddenly tripped on the rug, making him throw me down and fall on top of me. He looked so astonished I had to laugh, and once I started all the hysteria that had been building up in me in the past few days took over, and I couldn't stop. He just looked down at me as he sorted out my towel to cover me up as much as possible and grinned. That grin was such an Edward grin that I stopped laughing suddenly and remembered who we were. The spell was broken. We were Bella and Edward. Edward and Bella. Best friends. No romantic involvement whatsoever. What the hell was happening?! Edward saw my face fall and his own turned serious. He took my face in his hands, and my heart embarrassed me by beating fast and loud at his touch. He was so close he could surely hear._

"_Bella…"_

_I closed my eyes so his own wouldn't entice me in again. Wrong. Practically brother and sister. Bathed naked together in childhood. I wonder what bathing naked with him would be like now…stop it!_

_His hands tightened around my cheeks, trying to force my chin up._

"_Bella, please! Look at me."_

_I winced at__ the anguish in his voice and tried to stay strong. No I will not look at you. Not with those eyes mister. Not likely. But even without looking at him the longing I felt was building in me rapidly. He was still lying on top of me, I could feel all the weight of his amazing body pushed up against every surface of my barely covered self, and the more I tried to block it out the more it consumed me. He still had an erection for God's sake. My mind raced as I tried to sort through my emotions. How had this attraction suddenly crept up on me? I was certain that was all it was, lust, probably caused by hormones that had no release elsewhere. Now all I had to do was fight it and preserve the most important thing in my life, my friendship with Edward. If it wasn't too late._

_I was just plucking up the courage to speak when I heard a slam and my eyes flew open. I met Edward's gaze and was not comforted to see the same panic I was feeling mirrored in his eyes. The__n the living room door flew open and I suddenly wished I'd kept my eyes closed. _

_There stood my father, rapidly turning a most interesting shade of purple as he saw his daughter lying naked under an eighteen year old boy __with only a flimsy towel protecting her dignity. I felt Edwards body tense on top of me and my cheeks set on fire. This couldn't look any worse to my small town dad. The room was deathly quiet apart from my harsh breathing and thumping heart. Charlie slowly took in what was happening, eyes practically popping out of his skull when he realised just who the guy corrupting his daughter was. His mouth closed and opened several times as my mind raced with possible excuses I could use. Would falling over be plausible? But then Charlie finally found words and I knew no excuse would fool the police chief._

"_EDWARD CULLEN!!" He roared, spit flying everywhere, "PLACE YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!!"_

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_**EPOV**_

_Shit._

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**Poor Charlie's blood pressure is going to be sky high next chapter. Lol I hope you enjoyed the kiss, it was needed to confuse Bella a bit and get her feelings started. More to come soon :) xxx**


	6. Officer Swan To You

**I'm sorry it's been so long! This is longer that usual to make up for it :)**** and I'll update quicker this time, promise.**

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**EPOV**

_Shit._

_Shitshitshitshitshit._

_With knobs on._

_I took a deep breath. "Charlie, I-"_

_He cut me off by moving towards me, sticking his face threateningly close to mine and hissing, "That's Officer Swan to the likes of you."_

_I faintly heard Bella laugh nervously behind me. Without realising it I had moved in front of her in a protective stance, shielding her from Charlie's protective rage._

"_Dad," I hated to hear her sweet voice sound so scared. "This is Edward you're talking to, not some stranger."_

_Charlie didn't move his eyes from mine as he answered his daughter. "Not a stranger, Bella? This Edward is very strange to me. The Edward I knew wouldn't take advantage of MY daughter, in MY living room, while I was out earning money."_

_I flinched and heard Bella let out a little gasp. I had to find something to say to make this better._

"_Officer Swan, I would never-"_

"_You just did."_

"_Dad." Bella's voice changed, she was getting angry. _

_Charlie continued to stare at me and she cleared her throat loudly and spoke more loudly._

"_DAD."_

_Charlie's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he turned to look at her._

"_You will not speak to Edward like that. Not now, not ever again. I don't care what you think you just walked in on. At least let me explain first. Okay?"_

_Charlie looked as shocked as I was at the authority in her tone and he nodded slightly before treating me with his glare again._

"_Good." Bella continued. "Now Edward, I think you should leave so I can talk to my father alone."_

_I looked at her in disbelief. No way was I going to let her deal with this on her own. This whole thing was my fault!_

_She sensed my resistance and shook her head._

"_Leave."_

_Her eyes had no warmth in them, only calm command. I tried not to let the pain I felt show in my face as I turned and slowly walked out of the room. It was as if that exquisite kiss, that amazing moment of clarity and joy that I had felt, and thought she was feeling too, had meant nothing to her. The best moment of my life had turned into the worst in what seemed like the blink of an eye. So I left._

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_I dialled her number for the fifth time that night and sat undecided, finger hovering over the call button. _

"_Just do it."_

_I had confided in Emmett after he found me at home alone, pacing round the living room and slowly emptying his bottle of jack daniels. After telling him everything I realised that what I now knew I felt for Bella had been growing for a long time. This is why I was always so against dating anyone, why I never socialised with anyone apart from my five best friends. This is why when Bella went out on her first date about a few years ago, I followed her secretly in my car to the restaurant, telling myself it was just for reassurance that she arrived safely. This is why I was so relieved when she knocked on my door about an hour later, claiming to have only just escaped being bored to death by that 'patronising slimeball'. This is why whenever she went to see her mother I missed her so much I felt like I couldn't breathe properly again until she came back. I was in love with her. But should I tell her, and risk losing her completely?_

_Emmett thought so. He sat on the sofa opposite, trying to stare me into submission. _

"_What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"_

"_Then she won't pick up."_

"_I really need to talk-"_

"_I know."_

"_It's just that I don't know how-"_

"_I know."_

"_I don't want to make things-"_

"_Edward."_

"_But she might feel like-"_

"_Dude."_

"_And then I could lose-"_

"_EDWARD. FUCKING CALL HER."_

_I stood up suddenly and tossed the phone aside._

_Emmett glared at me._

"_Pussy."_

_I just shook my head and went to grab my coat._

"_You know, I never thought you were the type to just let something go like this."_

_I searched around the kitchen for my keys._

"_Not all kisses are as amazing as that you know. This could be it, man. Don't be pathetic."_

_I went over to the front door, slapping him on the back on my way._

"_You have to sort it out. You and Bella are made for each other!"_

_He looked up at me at last, all set to round up his lecture, but he stopped short when he saw me standing there about to leave. I grinned at him._

"_I know. That's why I'm going over there now."_

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**BPOV**

_I lay on my bed, fully clothed in the dark, and stared at the moon through my window. I could hear Charlie snoring loudly across the hall and smiled slightly as I put my iPod earphones in to block him out. Charlie had calmed down soon after Edward left, and he intended to apologise to next time he saw him. I explained to Charlie that the kiss had just happened, it wasn't planned and it had never happened before, and by the end of my ramblings he even had a strange little smile on his face._

"_So did you enjoy it?"_

"_Dad! Don't ask me things like that!"_

"_I see. You did enjoy it."_

"_It was weird."_

_Then he just smiled and left the room. I might have heard him mutter "should've known" under his breath as he left but I have no idea what that was supposed to mean. I was just happy that the embarrassment was over and Edward would still be welcome in my house. If he ever wanted to come back again after today. _

_I frowned and try to relax as Debussy filled my ears. I had no idea how things stood with Edward after today. Things between us were definitely changing, and I didn't know how I felt about that. After managing to never fight or kiss for fifteen years we had proceeded to do both in the space of a week. If that's how he makes up with his friends after fights, maybe I'd been missing out. As I mused a flicker at the corner of my eye caught my attention and I nearly screamed out loud as a hand clamped down over my mouth, simultaneously removing my earphones._

"_Shhh Bella. It's me."_

_Why is my heart still racing when I know it's only Edward?_

"_I came through the window, you didn't hear me tapping with your music so loud."_

_I nodded and he removed his hand, somehow caresses my face as he did so. The touch sent shivers down my spine as memories of the kiss came to the front of my mind. I looked at Edward in confused anticipation as he smiled at me hesitantly and sat down next to me on the bed._

"_How's Charlie?" _

_I blinked, confused even further by the question. Who would mention my dad at a time like this?_

"_Was he angry after I left?"_

_Oh, right._

"_Er, no. I spoke to him and he calmed down. He's sorry for yelling."_

"_Good. I'm glad he didn't give you a hard time."_

_I looked down away from his strangely intense eyes and fiddled with my quilt as I tried to collect my thoughts. I had no idea what to say, and that scared the shit out of me. I had never, ever, felt shy around Edward before._

"_Bella."_

_His voice was soft and tender, which scared me even more. I continued to look steadily down until he hooked his finger under my chin and brought my face up to look into his. His beautiful green eyes were uncertain._

_I couldn't take the loaded silence anymore so I blurted out, "We kissed."_

"_Yes."_

"_We don't kiss!"_

"_Didn't you like it?"_

"_I…" I looked down again before continuing. "I loved it."_

_He let out a breath sharply and I knew I should've kept quiet. He didn't want to hear that. He'd never see me that way. I t was just a mistake to him. Thrilling, passionate, mind-blowing, but a mistake all the same. He'd been sick enough of me as it was without me going all soppy on him. Inexplicable tears filled my eyes and I blinked desperately to keep them at bay, but felt several slip down my cheeks as I turned away from him and said thickly, "You can go now."_

_I was relieved when he stood up; glad he was listening to me. I just needed to cry and forget I ever felt like this. Maybe I if I stayed away from him for a week or so we could go back to how we were. Or maybe things would never be the same again. I just needed to be alone._

_So it made me jump when I heard his voice whisper in my ear._

"_You loved it?"_

_My heartbeat grew faster._

"_I was hoping you'd say that."_

_As I turned my face towards his, I didn't stop to care how complicated this was getting or how I couldn't work out how where we stood. I just let myself feel how I wanted to feel; glad._


	7. All In Good Time

"_You loved it?"_

_My heartbeat grew faster._

"_I was hoping you'd say that."_

_As I turned my face towards his, I didn't stop to care how complicated this was getting or how I couldn't work out how where we stood. I just let myself feel how I wanted to feel; glad._

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**Charlie POV**

I paused in front of Bella's door the next day, and opened it to take a peek at my sleeping daughter. Looking over at her bed I saw not one, but two shapes on her bed. All regret about my behavior towards the Cullen boy the day before vanished and I nearly ran to get my gun before I suddenly noticed they were both fully clothed and lying above the covers. What a relief.

Creeping into the room slightly I smiled as I got a good look. Bella and Edward were lying facing each other, nearly touching noses, their hands loosely intertwined in their sleep. Both of them were smiling. Bella was wearing Edward's jacket, presumably to protect her from the breeze the open window was letting in the room. I crossed the room silently to close it and suddenly felt a bittersweet sadness as it hit me that my daughter may finally have realised she was in love with her best friend. They grow up so fast.

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**Jasper POV**

I watched Alice peeling potatoes, feeling guilty I wasn't helping. She seemed to sense my gaze, and looked up at me and winked.

"Don't worry Jas, I've got it covered."

My mouth fell open. Yet again, she had realised what I was about to do before I even did it. The woman could read me like an open book.

"How...?"

Her tinkling laugh filled the room and automatically made me grin back.

"You looked uncomfortable, and you kept jerking as if you were about to come over and help but couldn't quite work up the energy, that's all." She changed the subject quickly, "Hey, where is everyone? They'll be back for dinner right? I've made loads."

"Don't say that too loudly, they may hear you and run away.." I grinned as she flicked potato peel at me and pouted. "No I'm sure it will be delicious. Rose and Emmett are in the garage 'working on the car', or so they say, and actually I haven't seen Edward at all today."

She looked up at me sharply. "Did you hear him come home last night?"

"No, I was with you remember? Why?"

She sighed in exasperation and made me smile again at how cute she was.

"Don't you see? He went to Bella's, all the stuff that's been happening with them lately, we didn't hear him come in.. "

The penny dropped and my eyes widened. "You don't think he spent the night at Bella's?! With Charlie there?"

She looked excited and opened her full, smooth lips to answer when we heard the front door open and voices in the hall. She waved her peeler at me to make me be silent and I obeyed, listening intently.

"So you're saying you would definitely win, no doubt about it?" The voice was unmistakably Bella's. I raised my eyebrows at Alice and she nearly cut her hand off with the peeler in excitement.

"Absolutely! Let's be honest Bella, you're not the best driver." Edward was the other person, no surprises there.

"How can you possibly say that? You hardly ever see me drive, you always insist on driving us everywhere!"

At that point they entered the kitchen, and stopped dead to see us standing there, Alice holding a potato peeler in mid air and me sitting staring, probably with identical looks of curiosity on our faces.

"Oh hey guys." Edward said casually, recovering first and sauntering over to the kitchen. "What's cooking?"

Alice's eyes narrowed. I could practically see her planning how to find out what was going on.

"Dinner for me and Jasper. There's not enough for everyone, seeing as we didn't know where you were."

I looked at her. "But you just said-"

She turned and glared at me meaningfully so I shut up.

"Oh that's okay." Edward said breezily. "Not really hungry anyway, how about you my- Bella?"

Once again, mine and Alice's eyes met in shock. My what?!

Bella shrugged. "Yep, whatever."

Alice rolled her eyes and turned her back, slamming around the kitchen, making her frustration perfectly clear. As Edward and Bella continued whatever driving argument they had been having before, I walked over to her and whispered in her ear.

"Relax. When they're ready to tell us, they will tell us."

She turned around, so close to me I could see the tiny freckle by her ear.

"But I want to know now, Jasper!" She was close to stamping her foot in indignation.

I kissed her nose softly. "All in good time love."

She checked the others weren't listening before saying "Do you think we should tell them about us yet?"

"I think we should let them sort themselves out first. And Emmett and Rosalie. All in good time."


End file.
